Photo © Dennis Keeley

From his home in Alaska, John Luther Adams has created a unique musical world grounded in wilderness landscapes and indigenous cultures, and in natural phenomena from the songs of birds to elemental noise. His music includes works for orchestra, small ensembles, percussion and electronic media, and is recorded on the Cold Blue, New World and New Albion labels. He is the author of Winter Music (Wesleyan, 2004), and his writings have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, including The Best Spiritual Writing (Harper Collins, 2002) and The Book of Music and Nature (Wesleyan, 2000).

Adams has worked with many prominent performers and venues, including Bang On A Can, Almeida Opera, the California E.A.R. Unit, FLUX Quartet, the Paul Dresher Ensemble, Percussion Group Cincinnati, the Sundance Institute and Arena Stage. He has received awards and fellowships from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, Lila Wallace Arts Partners, the Rockefeller Foundation, Opera America, and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts.

 JLA has served as composer in residence with the Anchorage Symphony, Fairbanks Symphony, Arctic Chamber Orchestra, Anchorage Opera, and the Alaska Public Radio Network. He has taught at the University of Alaska, Bennington  College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has served as president of the American Music Center.

Articles about John Luther Adams and his music  appear in The New Grove Dictionary of Music, Baker's  Biographical Dictionary of Music and Musicians, American  Music in the 20th Century (G. Schirmer), Music in  the United States (Prentice Hall) and The Avant Music Guide (Japan).